Somers Inmate's Death Is Ruled Heart Failure

SOMERS — A Somers prisoner sprayed with chemical Mace after attacking several guards in June died of heart failure, a state medical examiner has ruled.

The autopsy on Sammie Lee Godley, 32, was welcomed Wednesday by Somers Warden Lawrence Tilghman, who in June wrote inmates a letter pleading for calm when Godley's death heightened tensions at the maximum-security prison.

But the ruling was criticized by members of Godley's family in Bridgeport. Margaret Godley, 37, his sister-in-law, said she believes guards beat him to death and the state is covering up the facts.

Godley died June 9 after slashing a guard with a homemade knife and then assaulting other correction officers who had subdued him, according to the Correction Department.

The cause of death was listed Wednesday as dysrhythmia "due to hypertrophic and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Edward McDonough, the state's deputy chief medical examiner.

Godley had an enlarged heart and died of a heart attack, McDonough said. He said the fight with guards may have triggered the heart attack.

McDonough -- who viewed videotapes of the attack -- said Godley was not mistreated, and received a superficial cut on the arm and a scrape on the forehead.

"Not only were there no lethal injuries, there were only trivial injuries," McDonough said. "There was no evidence of choking. He wasn't beaten, he wasn't zapped or anything like that."

But Margaret Godley said her brother-in-law had no history of heart problems.

"My brother-in-law was perfectly healthy," she said. "He had no heart problems or anything like that. I'm not satisfied."

She asked why the autopsy took nearly four months to complete.

McDonough attributed the delay to a thorough investigation.

Tilghman had locked down the prison for several days after the incident to inform inmates that Godley had died of a heart attack.

In a personal letter, he urged inmates to "think beyond your feelings and use your head."

He said he expects no repercussions from the medical examiner's report.